Telephone number spoofing scam affects NC citizens and law firms

We have been warned by North Carolina Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company of a new scam affecting citizens of North Carolina. In this new scam, the caller purports to represent a law firm collecting a debt. The caller threatens the citizen with arrest if the debt isn’t paid via credit card during the phone call. The phone call has been reported to go like this:

“I am with [law firm] calling to collect a debt. If you do not give me a credit card number and pay this immediately, the sheriff is standing by to come to your house and arrest you.”

Victims of these scams are chosen at random. The scammers are hoping to scare vulnerable people into thinking they must provide credit card information to avoid going to jail. Unfortunately, there is nothing law firms can do to prevent scammers from spoofing their phone number.

Gum, Hillier & McCroskey, PA, is not a debt collection agency. This firm represents consumers in debt relief. In no case DOES this firm attempt to collect debt on behalf of a client via phone call. If you receive a phone call to collect debt purporting to be from our law firm, please do not provide personal or financial information to the caller. If possible, write down the name of the law office that appeared on the caller ID and hang up.

Report the incident by calling the State Bar Attorney Client Assistance Program at 919-828-4620 and describe what happened. You may contact the North Carolina Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Agency by calling 877-566-7226 or visiting www.ncdoj.gov/Consumer.aspx. You can also report telemarketing fraud to the FBI. You can contact your local agency or complete their online tips form at https://tips.fbi.gov/.

ADR

The Gum, Hillier & McCroskey Firm

Serving the Western North Carolina families and businesses through divorce and bankruptcy in the counties of Buncombe, Swain, Macon, Haywood, Clay, Avery,
Graham, Mitchell, Jackson, Cherokee, Madison and Yancey.
The bankruptcy law practice also serves the counties of Henderson and Transylvania.